Method and system for content selection, delivery and payment

ABSTRACT

Aspects of a method and system for content selection, delivery and payment may comprise a management entity that coordinates operation of one or more endpoint devices. The one or more endpoint devices may be operable to select one or more parameters associated with a particular content type from the management entity. The particular content type may specify a type of media content that is handled by the one or more endpoint devices. The one or more endpoint devices may be operable to receive configuration information from the management entity based on the selected one or more parameters associated with the particular content type. The one or more endpoint devices may be configured utilizing the received configuration information. The one or more endpoint devices may be operable to pay for the received configuration information.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS/INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

This application makes reference to, claims priority to, and claimsbenefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/228,322, filed Jul.24, 2009.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Certain embodiments of the invention relate to communications. Morespecifically, certain embodiments of the invention relate to a methodand system for content selection, delivery and payment.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Electronic communication networks are becoming an increasingly popularmeans of exchanging data of various types, sizes for a variety ofapplications and business and consumers alike want network access onmore and more devices. Moreover, consumers and business continually wantfaster network access and/or greater bandwidth on all of theircommunication devices. Consequently, as more and more devices are beingequipped to access communication networks, network administrators andservice providers are presented with the challenge of effectivelyserving an increasing number of devices having and increasingly diverseset of capabilities utilizing an increasing diverse collection ofprotocols, software, and/or other networking and computing resources.

Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditionalapproaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, throughcomparison of such systems with some aspects of the present invention asset forth in the remainder of the present application with reference tothe drawings.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A system and/or method is provided for content selection, delivery andpayment, substantially as shown in and/or described in connection withat least one of the figures, as set forth more completely in the claims.

These and other advantages, aspects and novel features of the presentinvention, as well as details of an illustrated embodiment thereof, willbe more fully understood from the following description and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating a system for content selection,delivery and payment, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 1B is a diagram illustrating a system for content selection,delivery and payment comprising a service provider and a contentprovider, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram of an exemplary endpoint device, inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2B is a block diagram of an exemplary management entity, inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary registry in a managemententity, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary interface for an endpointdevice, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating exemplary steps for contentselection, delivery and payment, in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Certain embodiments of the invention may be found in a method and systemfor content selection, delivery and payment. In various embodiments ofthe invention, a communication system may comprise a management entitythat coordinates operation of one or more endpoint devices. The one ormore endpoint devices may be operable to select one or more parametersassociated with a particular content type from the management entity.The particular content type may specify a type of media content that ishandled by the one or more endpoint devices. The one or more endpointdevices may be operable to receive configuration information from themanagement entity based on the selected one or more parametersassociated with the particular content type. The one or more endpointdevices may be configured utilizing the received configurationinformation. The one or more endpoint devices may be operable to providepayment and/or payment related information for the receivedconfiguration information.

In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, the one or moreparameters associated with the particular content type may comprise oneor more of a bandwidth, a latency, a service class, one or moreapplications, a time period of accessing the one or more applications,one or more services, and/or a time period of leasing the one or moreservices. The received configuration information may comprise one orboth of the one or more applications for the time period of accessingthe one or more applications and/or one or more services for the timeperiod of leasing the one or more services. The one or more endpointdevices may be operable to pay for the received configurationinformation based on one or both of the selected bandwidth and/or theselected service class associated with the particular content type. Theone or more endpoint devices may be operable to communicate a globalnavigation satellite system (GNSS) location of each of the one or moreendpoint devices to the management entity. The one or more endpointdevices may be operable to provide payment and/or payment relatedinformation for the received configuration information based on the GNSSlocation of the one or more endpoint devices. The one or more endpointdevices may be operable to receive the selected one or more parametersvia one or both of a wireless and/or a wired connection. The managemententity may be one or both of a content provider and/or a serviceprovider.

FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating a system for content selection,delivery and payment, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.Referring to FIG. 1A, there is shown a communication system 100comprising a sub-network 101, and a management entity 102. The exemplarysub-network 101 may comprise a plurality of endpoint devices. Exemplaryendpoint devices may comprise media players, HD television systems,video and/or still cameras, game consoles, set-top boxes (STBs), cellphones, laptops, televisions sets, display devices and/or locationdetermination enabled devices. For example, the sub-network 101 maycomprise a plurality of STBs 110 a and 110 b, which are collectivelyreferred to herein as STBs 110, a plurality of cell phones 112 a and 112b, which are collectively referred to herein as cell phones 112, and aplurality of laptops 114 a and 114 b, which are collectively referred toherein as laptops 114. The STB 110 a may be installed in one or morecommercial properties 104, the STB 110 b and laptop 114 b may beinstalled in one or more residential properties 106, the laptop 114 aand the cell phone 112 b may be located in one or more multi-tenantproperties 108, and/or the cell phone 112 a may be located within thesub-network 101. Notwithstanding, the invention may not be so limitedand the plurality of endpoint devices may be located and/or installed inany other location, for example, an office without departing from thescope of the invention.

The commercial properties 104 may comprise, for example, stores,restaurants, offices, and municipal buildings. The residentialproperties 106 may comprise, for example, single-family homes, homeoffices, and/or town-houses. Multi-tenant properties 108 may compriseresidential and/or commercial tenants such as apartments, condos,hotels, and/or high rises.

The management entity 102 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces and/or code for managing operating parameters of one or moreendpoint devices, for example, the STB 110 b, the cell phone 112 b,and/or the laptop 114 b. The cell phones 112 and the laptops 114 mayeach comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that maybe operable to communicate wirelessly utilizing one or more wirelessstandards such as IS-95, CDMA, EVDO, GSM, TDMA, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS/WCDMA,TD-SCDMA, HSPA (HSUPA and/or HSDPA), WIMAX and/or LTE. The cell phones112 and the laptops 114 may be operable to communicate based onBluetooth, Zigbee, WLAN and/or other suitable wireless technologies. Themanagement entity 102 may be operable to provide access to the Internetand/or one or more private networks via one or more of optical, wired,and/or wireless connections. In various embodiments of the invention,the optical, wired, and/or wireless connections may comprise a broadbandconnection such as a digital subscriber line (DSL), Ethernet, passiveoptical network (PON), a T1/E1 line, a cable television infrastructure,a satellite television infrastructure, and/or a satellite broadbandInternet connection.

The STBs 110 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/orcode that may be operable to connect to a display device, for example, atelevision set and an external source of signal from the managemententity 102. The STBs 110 may be operable to convert the received signalfrom the management entity 102 to content, which may be displayed on adisplay device, for example, a television set. The STBs 110 may beoperable to provide Internet connectivity, multimedia downloads and/orIP telephony sessions.

The cell phones 112 and/or laptops 114 may each comprise suitable logic,circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to communicateutilizing one or more cellular standards. The cell phones 112 and/orlaptops 114 may be operable to receive, process, and present multimediacontent and may additionally be enabled to run a network browser orother applications for providing Internet services to a user of the cellphones 112 and/or laptops 114.

In operation, the management entity 102 may be operable to coordinateoperation of one or more endpoint devices, for example, the STBs 110,the cell phones 112, and/or the laptops 114. One or more endpointdevices, for example, the STBs 110, the cell phones 112, and/or thelaptops 114 may be operable to select one or more parameters associatedwith a particular content type from the management entity 102. Theparticular content type may specify a type of media content that ishandled by the one or more endpoint devices, for example, the STBs 110,the cell phones 112, and/or the laptops 114. One or more endpointdevices, for example, the STBs 110, the cell phones 112, and/or thelaptops 114 may be operable to receive configuration information fromthe management entity 102 based on the selected one or more parametersassociated with the particular content type. One or more endpointdevices, for example, the STBs 110, the cell phones 112, and/or thelaptops 114 may be operable to be configured utilizing the receivedconfiguration information. One or more endpoint devices, for example,the STBs 110, the cell phones 112, and/or the laptops 114 may beoperable to pay for the received configuration information.

The received configuration information may comprise one or both of theone or more applications for the time period of accessing the one ormore applications and/or one or more services for the time period ofleasing the one or more services. The one or more endpoint devices, forexample, the STBs 110, the cell phones 112, and/or the laptops 114 maybe operable to pay for the received configuration information based onone or both of the selected bandwidth and/or the selected service classassociated with the particular content type.

FIG. 1B is a diagram illustrating a system for content selection,delivery and payment comprising a service provider and a contentprovider, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referringto FIG. 1B, there is shown a communication system 150. The communicationsystem 150 may comprise a content provider 152, a service provider 154,wired 158 a and/or wireless connections 158 b, and a plurality ofendpoint devices, for example, a laptop 160 a, a cell phone 160 b, and aset-top box (STB) 160 c. The content provider 152 may comprise amanagement entity 156 a and the service provider 154 may comprise amanagement entity 156 b. The management entities 156 a and 156 b, thelaptop 160 a, the cell phone 160 b, and the STB 160 c may besubstantially similar to the corresponding blocks as described withrespect to FIG. 1A.

The content provider 152 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces and/or code that may be operable to generate and/or provide aplurality of types of content, for example, audio data, video dataand/or text data. The content provider 152 may be operable tocommunicate the received data to one or more endpoint devices, forexample, the STB 160 c, the laptop 160 a and/or the cell phone 160 beither directly or indirectly via the service provider 154, for example.

The service provider 154 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces and/or code that may be operable to receive data from thecontent provider 152. The service provider 154 may be operable tocommunicate the received data to one or more endpoint devices, forexample, the STB 160 c, the laptop 160 a and/or the cell phone 160 b.The service provider 154 may be operable to provide access to theInternet, the content provider 152, and/or one or more private networksvia one or more of optical, wired 158 a, and/or wireless connections 158b. In various embodiments of the invention, the optical, wired 158 a,and/or wireless connections 158 b may comprise a broadband connectionsuch as a digital subscriber line (DSL), Ethernet, passive opticalnetwork (PON), a T1/E1 line, a cable television infrastructure, asatellite television infrastructure, WiMAX, LTE, Wi-Fi, and/or asatellite broadband Internet connection.

In operation, the management entity 156 a and/or 156 b may be operableto coordinate operation of one or more endpoint devices, for example,the STB 160 c, the cell phone 160 b, and/or the laptop 160 a. One ormore endpoint devices, for example, the STB 160 c, the cell phone 160 b,and/or the laptop 160 a may be operable to select one or more parametersassociated with a particular content type from the management entity 156a and/or 156 b. The particular content type may specify a type of mediacontent that is handled by the one or more endpoint devices, forexample, the STB 160 c, the cell phone 160 b, and/or the laptop 160 a.The one or more parameters associated with the particular content typemay comprise one or more of a bandwidth, a latency, a service class, oneor more applications, a time period of accessing the one or moreapplications, one or more services, and/or a time period of leasing theone or more services.

One or more endpoint devices, for example, the STB 160 c, the cell phone160 b, and/or the laptop 160 a may be operable to receive configurationinformation from the management entity 156 a and/or 156 b based on theselected one or more parameters associated with the particular contenttype. One or more endpoint devices, for example, the STB 160 c, the cellphone 160 b, and/or the laptop 160 a may be configured utilizing thereceived configuration information. One or more endpoint devices, forexample, the STB 160 c, the cell phone 160 b, and/or the laptop 160 amay be operable to pay for the received configuration information.

The received configuration information may comprise one or both of theone or more applications for the time period of accessing the one ormore applications and/or one or more services for the time period ofleasing the one or more services. The one or more endpoint devices, forexample, the STB 160 c, the cell phone 160 b, and/or the laptop 160 amay be operable to pay for the received configuration information basedon one or both of the selected bandwidth and/or the selected serviceclass associated with the particular content type.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram of an exemplary endpoint device, inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 2A,there is shown a endpoint device 200. The endpoint device 200 maycomprise a wireless Tx/Rx 202, a wired Tx/Rx 204, a GNSS receiver 206, aprocessor 208, a memory 210, and a DSP 212.

The wireless broadband Tx/Rx 202 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces and/or code that may be operable to transmit and/or receivedata, in adherence with one or more broadband communication standards,to and/or from the service provider 154 and/or the content provider 152via the wireless connection 158 b. The wireless broadband Tx/Rx 202 maybe operable to perform amplification, down-conversion, filtering,demodulation, and analog to digital conversion of received signals. Inaddition, the wireless broadband Tx/Rx 202 may be operable to performamplification, up-conversion, filtering, modulation, and digital toanalog conversion of transmitted signals.

The wired Tx/Rx 204 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfacesand/or code that may be operable to transmit and/or receive data toand/or from the service provider 154 and/or the content provider 152 viathe wired connection 158 a. For example, the wired Tx/Rx 204 maytransmit and/or receive data via a T1/E1 line, PON, DSL, cabletelevision infrastructure, satellite broadband internet connectionand/or satellite television infrastructure for example. In variousembodiments of the invention, the wired Tx/Rx 204 may be operable toperform exemplary operations and/or functions comprising amplification,down-conversion, filtering, demodulation, and analog to digitalconversion of received signals. In addition, the wired Tx/Rx 204 may beoperable to perform exemplary operations and/or functions comprisingamplification, up-conversion, filtering, modulation, and digital toanalog conversion of transmitted signals.

The GNSS receiver 206 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfacesand/or code that may be operable to receive signals from one or moreGNSS satellites, for example, GLONASS, GALILEO and/or GPS satellites.The received signals may comprise timing, ephemeris, long term orbitinformation, and/or almanac information that enable the GNSS receiver206 to determine its location and/or time.

The processor 208 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfacesand/or code that may be operable to process data and/or controloperations of the endpoint device 200. In this regard, the processor 208may be operable to provide control signals to the various other blockswithin the endpoint device 200. The processor 208 may also control datatransfers between various portions of the endpoint device 200.Additionally, the processor 208 may enable execution of applicationsprograms and/or code. In various embodiments of the invention, theapplications, programs, and/or code may enable, for example, parsing,transcoding and/or otherwise processing of data. The data may comprisemultimedia data comprising voice, video, text, still images, and/ormoving images. The processor 208 may be operable to communicate one ormore parameters to the management entity 156 a and/or 156 b. Theprocessor 208 may be operable to receive the configuration informationfrom the service provider 154 and/or the content provider 154.

In various embodiments of the invention, the applications, programs,and/or code may be operable to, for example, configure and/or controloperation of the wireless Tx/Rx 202 and/or wired Tx/Rx 204 and/or theGNSS receiver 206, the memory 210, and/or the DSP 212.

The memory 210 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/orcode that may enable storage or programming of information thatcomprises, for example, parameters and/or code that may effectuate theoperation of the endpoint device 200. Exemplary parameters may compriseconfiguration data and exemplary code may comprise operational code suchas software and/or firmware, but the information need not be limited inthis regard. Additionally, the memory 210 may buffer or otherwise storereceived data and/or data to be transmitted. The memory 210 may beoperable to store the configuration information from the serviceprovider 154 and/or the content provider 154.

The DSP 212 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/orcode that may be operable to perform computationally intensiveprocessing of data. The DSP 212 may be operable to handle exemplaryoperations comprising encoding, decoding, modulating, demodulating,encryption, decryption, scrambling, descrambling, and/or otherwiseprocessing of data.

In operation, the processor 208 may be operable to select one or moreparameters associated with a particular content type from the managemententity 102. The particular content type may specify a type of mediacontent that is handled by the endpoint device 200. The processor 208may be operable to receive configuration information from the managemententity 102 based on the selected one or more parameters associated withthe particular content type. The processor 208 may be operable toconfigure the endpoint device 200 utilizing the received configurationinformation. The processor 208 may be operable to pay for the receivedconfiguration information.

FIG. 2B is a diagram illustrating an exemplary management entity, inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 2B,there is shown a management entity 250. The management entity 250 maycomprise a wireless Tx/Rx 252, a wired Tx/Rx 254, a processor 256, amemory 258, and a registry 260. The wireless Tx/Rx 252 and the wiredTx/Rx 254 may be substantially similar to the corresponding blocks asdescribed with respect to FIG. 2A.

The processor 256 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfacesand/or code that may be operable to receive one or more parameters fromthe endpoint device 200. The processor 256 may be operable todynamically update a registry 260 based on the received one or moreparameters from the endpoint device 200. The processor 256 may beoperable to process data and/or control operations of the managemententity 250. In this regard, the processor 256 may be operable to providecontrol signals to the various other blocks within the management entity250. The processor 256 may also control data transfers between variousportions of the management entity 250. Additionally, the processor 256may enable execution of applications programs and/or code. In variousembodiments of the invention, the applications, programs, and/or codemay enable, for example, parsing, transcoding and/or otherwiseprocessing data. The processor 256 may be operable to determineconfiguration information based on the received one or more parametersassociated with the endpoint device 200 and the usage pattern associatedwith the endpoint device 200. The processor 256 may be operable tocommunicate the configuration information to the endpoint device 200.

In various embodiments of the invention, the applications, programs,and/or code may be operable to, for example, configure and/or controloperation of the wireless Tx/Rx 252 and/or wired Tx/Rx 254, the memory258, and/or the registry 260.

The memory 258 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, and/or interfacesthat may be operable to store or program information that includes, forexample, parameters and/or code that may effectuate the operation of themanagement entity 250. Exemplary parameters may comprise configurationdata and exemplary code may comprise operational code such as softwareand/or firmware, but the information need not be limited in this regard.Additionally, the memory 258 may buffer or otherwise store received dataand/or data to be transmitted.

The registry 260 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfacesand/or code that may be operable to store one or more of a bandwidth, alatency, a service class, one or more applications, a time period ofaccessing the one or more applications, one or more services, and/or atime period of leasing the one or more services. Notwithstanding, theinvention may not be so limited, and the registry 260 may be stored inmemory 258, or inside a CPU's registers or tightly-coupled memory (TCM),or one or more other storage devices, such as a hard drive, flash drive,or remotely over a network, for example, without limiting the scope ofthe invention.

In operation, the processor 256 may be operable to receive a commandfrom the endpoint device 200 to select one or more parameters associatedwith a particular content type. The particular content type may specifya type of media content that is handled by the endpoint device 200. Theprocessor 256 may be operable to determine configuration informationbased on the selected one or more parameters associated with theparticular content type. The processor 256 may be operable tocommunicate the determined configuration information to the endpointdevice 200. The processor 256 may be operable to receive payment for thecommunicated configuration information.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary registry in a managemententity, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring toFIG. 3, the registry 300 comprises a plurality of endpoint deviceentries 302 a, 302 b, and 302 c, collectively referred to herein asentries 302. The registry 300 may comprise one or more parameters thatmay be selected by the endpoint device 200 associated with a particularcontent type. The particular content type may specify a type of mediacontent that is handled by the one or more endpoint devices. Althoughonly three entries 302 are depicted, the invention may not be so limitedand any number of entries may be presented, displayed and/or viewable inthe registry 300. Each entry 302 may correspond to a particular contenttype, for example. Each entry 302 may comprise a name/description field304, a service class 206, a GNSS coordinates field 308, a bandwidthusage field 310, an applications field 312, a time period of accessingapplications field 314, a device capabilities field 316, a servicesfield 318, a time period of leasing services field 320, and a latencyfield 322 corresponding to an endpoint device 200.

The name/description field 304 may provide information to uniquelydescribe the particular content type. The service class field 306 maycomprise information regarding the designated service class for eachcontent type. The GNSS coordinates field 308 may indicate the currentGNSS coordinates where the particular content type is available. Thebandwidth usage field 310 may indicate the amount of bandwidth used toview the particular content type. The applications field 312 mayindicate the various applications associated with the particular contenttype. The time period of accessing applications field 314 may indicate atime period at which one or more of the applications are available to beaccessed. The device capabilities field 316 may indicate the requireddevice capabilities to access the particular content type, for example,the processor CPU speed, the amount of memory required, and a speed ofone or more network connections required. The services field 318 mayindicate the various services associated with the particular contenttype. The time period of leasing services field 320 may indicate a timeperiod at which one or more of the services associated with theparticular content type may be leased. The latency field 322 mayindicate a guaranteed latency associated with the particular contenttype.

In operation, the endpoint device 200 may be operable to select one ormore parameters from the registry 300 associated with a particularcontent type. The management entity 250 may be operable to determineconfiguration information based on the selected one or more parameters.The configuration information may be utilized by the endpoint device 200to access one or more applications associated with the particularcontent type at a designated time and/or at a designated location basedon the availability of bandwidth, the latency guaranteed, the serviceclass, and the device capabilities of the endpoint device 200. Theconfiguration information may be utilized by the endpoint device 200 tolease one or more services associated with the particular content typeat a designated time and/or at a designated location based on theavailability of bandwidth, the service class, and the devicecapabilities of the endpoint device 200.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary interface for an endpointdevice, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring toFIG. 4, there is shown a portion of an endpoint device 400communicatively coupled to a management entity 102. In an exemplaryembodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 4, the endpoint device400 may comprise, for example, a STB 110, a cell phone 112, and/or alaptop 114. The management entity 102 may be accessed via, for example,an interface utilizing one or more application layer protocols, aproprietary language, or mark-up languages, such as web browser on theendpoint device 400. However, the invention may not be so limited andthe management entity 102 may be accessed from an end-user communicationdevice that is not a cellular enabled communication device. In suchinstances, the management entity 102 may be operable to select from oneor more endpoint devices associated with a user's account or profile onthe management entity 102. In this manner, preferences, permissions,and/or locations for a plurality of endpoint devices may be managed froma single endpoint device 400.

Referring to FIG. 4, below the browser menus and/or controls 402, theendpoint device interface 406 may comprise fields 410, 412 and 416,buttons 409, 414 and 418, and search results window 420.Notwithstanding, the interface illustrated in FIG. 4 is only exemplaryand an actual endpoint device interface may comprise fewer, different,and/or additional components.

The browser menus and/or controls 402 may be conventional menus and/orcontrols utilized for actions such as navigating web pages, printing webpages, configuring browser options, and setting user preferences.

In various embodiments of the invention, accessing an account historyand/or details button 409 may bring up a web page and/or window thatdisplays past usage for the endpoint device 400, for example, thepreviously selected parameters from the management entity 102, such as abandwidth, a latency, a service class, one or more applications, a timeperiod of accessing the one or more applications, one or more services,and/or a time period of leasing the one or more services, and a currentbalance of money owed by endpoint device 400 for receiving configurationinformation from the management entity 102.

The field 410 may comprise a name or identifier, if any, assigned to thecurrent location of the endpoint device 400. In this regard, a user ofthe endpoint device 400 may, via the field 412, assign an alphanumericname or other identifier to the GNSS coordinates or a range of GNSScoordinates. Furthermore, the location, and/or preferences for thelocation may be saved in local memory on the endpoint device 400. Forexample, “home” and “work” may be two commonly saved locations.Accordingly, a user may quickly locate one or more services near savedlocations during subsequent visits to the locations.

The field 412 may identify the GNSS coordinates of the current locationof the endpoint device 400. In various embodiments of the invention, arange of GNSS coordinates may be associated with a single location. Inthis regard, a radius preference may be configurable and may determinehow large of an area may be considered to be a single location. Theradius for each location may be determined, for example, based on thetransmit strength of an endpoint device 400.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, clicking the button 414 maydisplay a web page and/or interface that may enable assigning a name tothe current location. The current location may be saved to a localmemory in the endpoint device 400 and/or to a profile maintained in themanagement entity 102. Additionally, saving locations may enableidentifying one or more services near a location even when the endpointdevice 400 is not at that location and/or when the endpoint device 400cannot access the management entity 102. When saving a location, searchresults for one or more services near that location may also be saved.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, one or more parameters atthe management entity 102 may be searched using the field 416. Byclicking the button 418 may display a web page and/or interface in thesearch results window 420 that may list the available parameters to beselected at the management entity 102. When one or more parameters havebeen selected by the endpoint device 400, clicking the button 418 maydisplay a web page and/or interface that may enable viewing details ofthe configuration information for the endpoint device 400 in the searchresults window 420. For example, the details may provide, whereapplicable, one or more applications for the time period of accessingthe one or more applications, one or more services for the time periodof leasing the one or more services, and the cost of the receivedconfiguration information based on one or more of the selectedbandwidth, the selected service class associated with the particularcontent type, and/or the GNSS location of the endpoint device 400.

The endpoint device 400 device controls 408 may comprise hard and/orsoft buttons to enable user interaction with the endpoint device 400.Exemplary controls may comprise a touch screen, voice activation, analphanumeric keypad, a scroll wheel, a roller ball, and/or amulti-directional button.

In operation, a user of the endpoint device 400 may open a web browseror other interface on the endpoint device 400 and navigate to themanagement entity 102. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, theuser may provide a username and password to authenticate the user and/orthe endpoint device 400 to the management entity 102. The location maybe automatically determined independent of user input. For example, ininstances where the endpoint device 400 is located at the desiredlocation, the location may be determined via GPS device or AGPS server.In other instances, the user may also enter the GNSS address of theendpoint device 400 to determine the available services in the vicinityof the endpoint device 400.

The user may search for one or more parameters near the user's currentlocation or in a different location. Upon receiving a list of potentialparameters to be selected in the search results window 420, the user mayselect one or more parameters associated with a particular content typefrom the management entity 102. The endpoint device 400 may be operableto receive configuration information from the management entity 102based on the selected one or more parameters. The endpoint device 400may be operable to configure itself based on the received configurationinformation from the management entity 102 and pay for the receivedconfiguration information from the management entity 102.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating exemplary steps for contentselection, delivery and payment, in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention. Referring to FIG. 5, exemplary steps may begin at step 502.In step 504, the endpoint device 200 may be operable to select one ormore parameters associated with a particular content type from themanagement entity 250. In step 506, the endpoint device 200 may beoperable to receive configuration information from the management entity250 based on the selected one or more parameters. In step 508, theendpoint device 200 may be operable to configure itself based on thereceived configuration information from the management entity 250. Instep 510, the endpoint device 200 may be operable to provide payment orcompensation for the received configuration information from themanagement entity 250. Control then returns to step 504.

In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, a method and systemfor content selection, delivery and payment may comprise a communicationsystem 100 (FIG. 1A). The communication system 100 may comprise amanagement entity 102 (FIG. 1A) that may be operable to coordinateoperation of one or more endpoint devices, for example, the STB 110 a(FIG. 1A), the cell phone 112 a (FIG. 1A), and/or the laptop 114 a (FIG.1A). One or more processors, for example, the processor 208 and/orcircuits for use in the one or more endpoint devices, for example, theSTB 110 a, the cell phone 112 a, and/or the laptop 114 a may be operableto select one or more parameters associated with a particular contenttype from the management entity 102. The particular content type mayspecify a type of media content that is handled by the one or moreendpoint devices, for example, the STB 110 a, the cell phone 112 a,and/or the laptop 114 a. One or more processors, for example, theprocessor 208 and/or circuits for use in the one or more endpointdevices, for example, the STB 110 a, the cell phone 112 a, and/or thelaptop 114 a may be operable to receive configuration information fromthe management entity 102 based on the selected one or more parametersassociated with the particular content type. One or more processors, forexample, the processor 208 and/or circuits for use in the one or moreendpoint devices, for example, the STB 110 a, the cell phone 112 a,and/or the laptop 114 a may be operable to configure the endpoint device200 utilizing the received configuration information. One or moreprocessors, for example, the processor 208 and/or circuits for use inthe one or more endpoint devices, for example, the STB 110 a, the cellphone 112 a, and/or the laptop 114 a may be operable to pay for thereceived configuration information.

In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, the one or moreparameters associated with the particular content type may comprise oneor more of a bandwidth, a latency, a service class, one or moreapplications, a time period of accessing the one or more applications,one or more services, and/or a time period of leasing the one or moreservices. The received configuration information may comprise one orboth of the one or more applications for the time period of accessingthe one or more applications and/or one or more services for the timeperiod of leasing the one or more services. One or more processors, forexample, the processor 208 and/or circuits for use in the one or moreendpoint devices, for example, the STB 110 a, the cell phone 112 a,and/or the laptop 114 a may be operable to pay for the receivedconfiguration information based on one or both of the selected bandwidthand/or the selected service class associated with the particular contenttype.

In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, one or moreprocessors, for example, the processor 208 and/or circuits for use inthe one or more endpoint devices, for example, the STB 110 a, the cellphone 112 a, and/or the laptop 114 a may be operable to communicate aGNSS location of each of the one or more endpoint devices, for example,the STB 110 a, the cell phone 112 a, and/or the laptop 114 a to themanagement entity 102. One or more processors, for example, theprocessor 208 and/or circuits for use in the one or more endpointdevices, for example, the STB 110 a, the cell phone 112 a, and/or thelaptop 114 a may be operable to provide payment or compensation for thereceived configuration information based on the GNSS location of the oneor more endpoint devices, for example, the STB 110 a, the cell phone 112a, and/or the laptop 114 a. One or more processors, for example, theprocessor 208 and/or circuits for use in the one or more endpointdevices, for example, the STB 110 a, the cell phone 112 a, and/or thelaptop 114 a may be operable to receive the selected one or moreparameters via one or both of a wireless 158 b and/or a wired connection158 a. The management entity 102 may be one or both of a contentprovider 152 and/or a service provider 154.

Another embodiment of the invention may provide a machine and/orcomputer readable storage and/or medium, having stored thereon, amachine code and/or a computer program having at least one code sectionexecutable by a machine and/or a computer, thereby causing the machineand/or computer to perform the steps as described herein for contentselection, delivery and payment.

Accordingly, the present invention may be realized in hardware,software, or a combination of hardware and software. The presentinvention may be realized in a centralized fashion in at least onecomputer system, or in a distributed fashion where different elementsare spread across several interconnected computer systems. Any kind ofcomputer system or other apparatus adapted for carrying out the methodsdescribed herein is suited. A typical combination of hardware andsoftware may be a general-purpose computer system with a computerprogram that, when being loaded and executed, controls the computersystem such that it carries out the methods described herein.

The present invention may also be embedded in a computer programproduct, which comprises all the features enabling the implementation ofthe methods described herein, and which when loaded in a computer systemis able to carry out these methods. Computer program in the presentcontext means any expression, in any language, code or notation, of aset of instructions intended to cause a system having an informationprocessing capability to perform a particular function either directlyor after either or both of the following: a) conversion to anotherlanguage, code or notation; b) reproduction in a different materialform.

While the present invention has been described with reference to certainembodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art thatvarious changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention. In addition, manymodifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material tothe teachings of the present invention without departing from its scope.Therefore, it is intended that the present invention not be limited tothe particular embodiment disclosed, but that the present invention willinclude all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A network management entity comprising: aregistry to store a plurality of entries, each respective entry of theplurality of entries corresponding to a respective content type of aplurality of content types of content that is ready to be delivered froma remote content provider to a respective endpoint device of a pluralityof endpoint devices in a sub-network associated with the networkmanagement entity for handling by the respective endpoint device, theplurality of content types including one or more of audio data, videodata or text data, each respective entry including data defining one ormore parameters controlling communication of the respective content typeto the respective endpoint device; a communication circuit configuredfor data communication over the sub-network with the plurality ofendpoint devices on the sub-network to enable the plurality of endpointdevices to access content from the remote content provider, thecommunication circuit configured to: provide to an endpoint device ofthe plurality of endpoint devices on the sub-network information about aplurality of parameters related to content, having a particular contenttype, available from the remote content provider, and receive from theendpoint device in the sub-network a command communication specifyingone or more parameters of the plurality of parameters, the specified oneor more parameters related to content to be received by the endpointdevice from the remote content provider; a processor in datacommunication with the registry and the communication circuit andconfigured to: receive from the communication circuit the one or moreparameters specified in the command communication, and, using the one ormore parameters, select from the registry configuration information fora specified content type of the plurality of content types for thecontent to be accessed from the remote content provider; and thecommunication circuit further configured to: communicate the selectedconfiguration information to the endpoint device for use by the endpointdevice in configuring the endpoint device for accessing the content fromthe remote content provider.
 2. The network management entity of claim 1wherein the processor is operative to select configuration informationsuitable for use by the endpoint device to configure itself to accessone or more applications associated with a respective content type. 3.The network management entity of claim 2 wherein the processor isoperative to select configuration information for use by the endpointdevice to access the one or more applications at a designated time or adesignated location of the endpoint device.
 4. The network managemententity of claim 1 wherein the processor is operative to select from theregistry an entry including configuration information suitable for useby the endpoint device to access, at a designated time period, one ormore services associated with the content that is ready to be deliveredto the endpoint device, the one or more services indicated in theselected entry by a first parameter of the one or more parameters, thedesignated time period indicated in the selected entry by a secondparameter of the plurality of parameters.
 5. The network managemententity of claim 1 wherein the processor is operative to provide throughthe communication circuit to the endpoint device a web page showingavailable content type parameters including past usage for previouslyselected parameters and to receive from the endpoint device through thecommunication circuit a command from the endpoint device to select oneor more content type parameters associated with a particular contenttype.
 6. The network management entity of claim 1 wherein thecommunication circuit is operative to interact with a web browseroperating on the endpoint device to provide the information about theplurality of parameters related to content available from the remotecontent provider and available to be selected via the web browser and tosubsequently receive from the web browser of the endpoint device the oneor more parameters related to content to be received by the endpointdevice.
 7. The network management entity of claim 1 wherein the one ormore parameters related to content to be received by the endpoint devicecomprise one or more of: a bandwidth, a latency, a service class, one ormore applications, a time period of accessing said one or moreapplications, one or more services, or a time period of leasing said oneor more services.
 8. The network management entity of claim 1 whereinthe communication circuit is further operative to: receive from theendpoint device a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) location ofthe endpoint device; and using the GNSS location of the endpoint device,provide through the communication circuit to the endpoint device theinformation about the plurality of parameters near a location specifiedby the GNSS location of the endpoint device.
 9. The network managemententity of claim 8 wherein the network management entity is operable todynamically update the registry based on the specified one or moreparameters.
 10. The network management entity of claim 1 wherein theprocessor is operative to provide through the communication circuit tothe endpoint device a web page showing available content type parametersand to receive from the endpoint device through the communicationcircuit a command from the endpoint device to select one or more contenttype parameters associated with a particular content type.
 11. Anendpoint device comprising: a communication circuit operative tocommunicate over a sub-network with a network management entity thatmanages communication on the sub-network with a plurality of endpointdevices including the endpoint device; a user interface including a webbrowser configured for operation by a user of the endpoint device, theuser interface operable to: display on the web browser a list ofparameters available at a location of the endpoint device, receive fromthe user of the endpoint device a selection of one or more parametersassociated with a particular content type of a plurality of availablecontent types for media to be delivered to the endpoint device from aremote content provider, the plurality of available content typesincluding audio data, video data or text data; and a processor in datacommunication with the communication circuit and the user interface, theprocessor operative to: receive the one or more parameters selected bythe user of the endpoint device from the user interface, provide the oneor more parameters selected by the user of the endpoint device to thecommunication circuit for communication on the sub-network to thenetwork management entity, receive on the sub-network from thecommunication circuit configuration information from the networkmanagement entity, the configuration information selected by the networkmanagement entity using location information about current location ofthe endpoint device and the one or more parameters selected by the userof the endpoint device, the received configuration information includinginformation to adapt operation of the endpoint device to access contentof the particular content type from the remote content provider at thecurrent location of the endpoint device, and configure the endpointdevice using the received configuration information.
 12. The endpointdevice of claim 11 wherein the user interface comprises: a displaydevice; and a web browser for entry of information by the user and fordisplay of information to the user on the display device.
 13. Theendpoint device of claim 12 wherein the user interface comprises: anaccount history button, wherein the plurality of available content typesfor media to be delivered to the endpoint device includes networkservices and network applications, and wherein the processor isresponsive to actuation of the account history button to cause thedisplay device to show on the web browser a web page that displays pastusage of network services or network applications by the endpointdevice.
 14. The endpoint device of claim 13 wherein the processor isfurther operative to cause the display device to show previouslyselected parameters associated with a particular content type for mediato be delivered to the endpoint device.
 15. The endpoint device of claim14 wherein the user interface comprises a search field operative toreceive a search request and wherein the processor is further operativeto cause the display device to show available parameters associated witha particular content type to be selected at the network managemententity.
 16. The endpoint device of claim 15 wherein the processor isoperative to cause the display device to show applications or servicesavailable on the network and a time period for accessing theapplications and services.
 17. The endpoint device of claim 16 whereinthe processor is operative to cause the display device to showinformation about cost of the received configuration information for theapplications or services available on the network.
 18. The endpointdevice of claim 17 wherein the processor is operative to cause thedisplay device to show information about the cost based on a selectedbandwidth of communication in the network.
 19. The endpoint device ofclaim 17 wherein the processor is operative to cause the display deviceto show information about the cost based on a geographic location of theendpoint device.
 20. A method comprising: at a network managemententity, storing in a memory a plurality of entries, each respectiveentry of the plurality of entries corresponding to a respective contenttype of a plurality of content types of content that is ready to bedelivered to a respective endpoint device of a plurality of endpointdevices in a network associated with the network management entity forhandling by the respective endpoint device, the plurality of contenttypes selected from a group including audio data, video data or textdata, each respective entry including information about the respectivecontent type and defining communication requirements of a respectiveendpoint device for accessing the respective content type by therespective endpoint device from a remote content provider; providingover a communication sub-network to an endpoint device a web pageshowing available content type parameters for the plurality of availablecontent types; receiving over the communication sub-network informationabout a geographical location of the endpoint device; receiving over thecommunication sub-network from the web page at the endpoint device acommand communication specifying one or more parameters for a specifiedcontent type of the plurality of available content types, the specifiedcontent type related to content to be received by the endpoint device atthe geographic location of the endpoint device and selected by a user ofthe endpoint device using the web page, the endpoint device being one ofa plurality of endpoint devices configured to access content from theremote content provider under control of a service provider operatingthe network management entity; using the geographical location of theendpoint device and the received parameters specified in the commandcommunication, selecting from the memory configuration information forthe specified content type for the content to be accessed by theendpoint device from the remote content provider, at the geographicallocation of the endpoint device; and communicating the selectedconfiguration information to the endpoint device for use by the endpointdevice in accessing the content from the remote content provide.
 21. Themethod of claim 20 wherein receiving over the communication sub-networkinformation about the geographical location of the endpoint devicecomprises receiving from the endpoint device global navigation satellitesystem (GNSS) information defining the geographical location of theendpoint device.
 22. The method of claim 20 wherein selecting from thememory configuration information for the specified content type for thecontent to be accessed by the endpoint device from the remote contentprovider comprises selecting as the configuration information one orboth of one or more applications for execution by the endpoint devicefor a time period of accessing the one or more applications; or one ormore services for execution by the endpoint device for a time period ofleasing the one or more services.